A Loud Shadow
by Red Paine
Summary: "I swear she's smiling behind that hood." For my Princess.


It's only been a few days since she got here, and yet I feel like I've known her forever. She doesn't say anything. I've never seen her face. But sometimes, I swear she's smiling behind that hood. Don't ask me how I know. I can just... feel it.

Zexion said we're not supposed to feel anything, but it's not like a faucet I can turn off. I always feel around her. I can always tell when she's smiling, when she's upset, even when she tries to hide it. More often than not, I think she can feel around me too.

Now, I am in the hallway, standing before her door. On today's mission, she seemed upset, but I don't know why. I'm here to ask her what's wrong. It's okay if she doesn't tell me. Making her happy is my only personal goal.

I knock. I can feel her standing on the other side. From the uneasy air, I can tell she's deciding whether or not she wants to see me.

"You have to let me in," I say, "I'll only be there if you want me there."

There's a pause, and then the door opens. She stands before me in her black cloak, veiled by the mask of her shadows. Even though her entire face and body are shielded from view, she has her own beauty that gives her a presence she's not supposed to have. Neither of us, or any of us, were meant to exist. But then, why does she have this light that makes people aware of her? How is it she can be so loud without even saying a word?

"See? That wasn't so hard." I offer her a smile, but it doesn't change anything. She sullenly walks over to her bed and sits on the edge, her hands folded in her lap. It almost hurts me that she's upset. In any other world, if she was someone else, I'd wonder why. But this is here. And this is her. I don't really care about why; I just want to fix it.

I approach her slowly, like a timid deer that might run off if I scare it. She doesn't look up at me when I ask, "Is everything okay?". A moment of silence passed before she shakes her head. At least she can admit something is wrong, which is more than I ever get some days. I already feel like I've gotten somewhere, so I press on, "Did something happen?" She doesn't respond. An idea forms in my mind and I don't like it. I can't keep the protective anger out of my tone when I ask, "Did someone hurt you?"

If anyone hurt her, I'd see to it that regardless if they had a heart or not, they'd fade away. She's my best friend and I will protect her with all I've got.

Again, she shakes her head no. I feel a little relieved, but not enough to allow me to leave her. I sit down next to her, "Then why are you sad?"

I watch her lift her finger and trace an X in the air, the sign I'd interpreted to be the scar on Saïx's face, "What happened with Saïx?"

She stuck her arms out to the sides, like Xemnas does when he uses his Ethereal Blades.

"So, Saïx and Xemnas...?"

She pointed to her mouth, then to her chest. I got the message.

"Xemnas and Saïx were talking about you."

She nodded. I felt a jolt of surprise when she pointed to me.

"What about me?"

It took several attempts for her to explain that Xemnas and Saïx were talking about her going on missions without me. I was a little sad that I'd be going on missions alone again, but somehow I knew it'd come to that. The same thing happened to me when I first arrived. They paired me with Axel for my first few missions so I wouldn't get lost or anything like that. Eventually I got to do solo-missions. Granted I liked having someone to talk to, being on my own felt nice sometimes. However, I remembered how scary the first solo-mission was, and sympathized.

"It's ok," I made my voice soothing, "You'll be fine. It just seems impossible because you'll be the one making calls. Don't worry about it, though. I can tell you'll make the right choices and kick Heartless butt."

She smiled at that. I felt a glow from making her feel better, and I could see I'd done enough. Getting to my feet, I said, "I'll see you in the morning, alright? Good night."

I went to bed feeling a lot better.

In the morning, I found out she left earlier than me. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't see her off, but I reminded myself that she'd meet me at the Clock Tower, and I could congratulate her then. Satisfied, I carried out that day's mission of heart-collecting, happily looking forward to seeing my friend after her first day of being on her own.

I walked out of the Dark Corridor into Twilight Town, next to the Ice Cream Shoppe and out of sight. The little old lady behind the counter beamed at me; I smiled back, as I liked her. She was sweet and occasionally gave me extra ice cream when I was out of money. Whenever I wished everyone was as nice as her, I recalled Axel's snarkiness and how much I'd miss it, and decided individuality is important.

"Two or three today?" she asked kindly. I loved the sincerity in her voice. No one could help but feel cheery around her. This woman had to have been made out of sugar and candy and everything sweet inbetween.

"Just two please."

She handed me a cold bag, and I handed her the munny, "Have a nice day."

"You too."

As I made my way to the Clock Tower, I looked over my shoulder to see her serving another customer. It was some chubby guy about my age with a bandana. I couldn't tell what he adored more, the lady serving the ice cream or the ice cream being served by the lady. I chuckled at the scene, then returned my focus to the plaza before me. I exited the quiet shop center to pass through the Sandlot, and what I found astonished me.

There she was, in the middle of the square, circled by Heartless. Blood was pooled out around her fallen form. She didn't move when I cried her name.

I dropped the bag and summoned my Keyblade, running as fast as I could toward her. My weapon slashed into their dark skin, slicing them in half and releasing more hearts. All the little pink orbs floated into the sky as I felled each monster. They instantly surrounded me, clawing at my body and breaking skin, leaving dents deep enough to store socks. I let out a sharp yelp and brought up my Key to do a sweeping attack and blow them away. The Heartless vanished into a cloud of darkness, their hearts reaching the clouds to join Kingdom Hearts. I quickly scanned the Sandlot, looking for more enemies, but that was the last of them. I sheathed my weapon and bent down to cradle her head in my lap.

"Hey. Hey, wake up." I gently slapped her cheek, "Wake up."

Having a closer look, I saw she'd been struck on the shoulder. The blood covered her torso, but I could see she was still breathing; she must have passed out from blood loss. I cast the healing spell Curaga and sewed her skin back together. Her fingers twitched, then she sat up, perfectly recovered. She turned to look at me.

I gave her a warm smile, "Hey. You feeling better?"

She nodded warily.

"Good. Tell me, was this your mission? To kill all those Heartless?"

Another nod.

"Well, it's over now. Let's go eat ice cream."

She smiled.

Thankfully, the bars of salty-sweet goodness were still intact. We sat on the edge of the Clock Tower, our feet dangling over the sides. I glanced at the station hundreds of miles below us, retrieving the ice cream from the bag and handing a bar to her. She silently nibbled on the blue treat, looking down at her shoes. Waves of guilt poured off of her. I took a bite, thinking of what to say.

"It's not your fault," I began, "You didn't fail. You're strong; I've seen you fight before. What they set you up with today was... unacceptable..."

She didn't react. I was wrong. Suddenly, it dawned on me. She knew this mission was too hard for her. She already figured out what I was just coming to realize: they were trying to get rid of her. A heavy silence hung in the air, weighing down on my shoulders. What are you supposed to say to that? It was obvious and almost unavoidable.

"I..." I honestly didn't know how to respond. She looked at me, expectantly. All I could do was stutter, "I'm so sorry but... I don't have the answers this time."

For a moment she just stared at me. Then, she looked back to her shoes. I waited for words to come to me, when she got to her feet and went to leave. Before she could create a Dark Corridor, I got to my feet. I grabbed her arm to hold her gently but firmly in place.

"Look, I... I may not always have the answers. And... I can't always play God and save you whenever you fall but... I'll always be here for you. Whatever happens, I'll be here, by your side, ready to fight for you. You will never be alone. We can do this... together."

She stopped altogether, relaxing in my grip. I let go as she turned to entirely face me. For the first time ever, she flipped back her hood and showed me her face. She was smiling, and for the first time, I could see the smile on her lips, and in her beautiful blue eyes as well. I was too awestruck to say anything. I didn't have to. She spoke her first words to me, face brighter than the setting sun.

"Th... Thank you."

I finally smiled back, "Always."

We managed to return to our original spots on the Clock Tower's edge, eating Sea Salt Ice Cream and laughing about absolutely nothing. A while later, Axel showed up, a little pissed off I didn't get him any ice cream. I promised to pay him back, and he quickly went back to being same old jerky fun Axel. He told us about a world he went to where Heartless don't exist and hearts are just organs. He said he learned some interesting things there, and he was fascinated with a fruit for some reason.

Did you know bananas have potassium?


End file.
